Is There a Burn Ban in Spokane County Right Now?

To find out whether there is a burn ban in Spokane County right now, check the Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency’s burn restrictions page at spokanecleanair.org/burning/burn-restrictions/ for live status on both air quality and fire safety bans.¹ The county can have one type of ban active, both, or neither, and the answer changes with the weather. If you’re not online, call the recorded burn information hotline at 509-477-4710, or 509-477-4727 for a person.²

If you’re planning silvicultural burning on land protected by the Washington Department of Natural Resources, that’s a separate check: call 800-323-BURN or visit the DNR fire danger page.¹

Two Different Bans, Two Different Triggers

Spokane County has two independent burn ban systems, and they answer different questions. An air quality burn ban is about smoke pollution and can be declared any time of year, though it hits hardest during winter inversions when cold air traps particulates in the Spokane Valley. A fire safety burn ban is about wildfire risk and typically appears during hot, dry, windy stretches in summer. Either one can make an otherwise-legal fire illegal, and they can be in effect at the same time.

Air Quality Burn Bans: Stage 1 and Stage 2

Air quality bans are governed by Washington Administrative Code 173-433 and target fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from wood smoke. They restrict indoor burning too, not just outdoor fires.

Stage 1

A Stage 1 ban is declared when PM2.5 is forecast to exceed 35 micrograms per cubic meter within 48 hours, or when that level has already been reached.³ During Stage 1, you can’t use a wood stove, fireplace, or pellet stove unless the device is EPA-certified or it is the only heat source in your home. “Sole source of heat” means the wood-burning device is the residence’s only heating system, apart from small portable space heaters.⁴

Stage 2

Stage 2 escalates after a Stage 1 ban has been in effect for 48 hours and pollution is still above the standard, or when forecasts show stagnant air will keep it trapped. At Stage 2, all solid fuel burning is banned regardless of whether your stove is EPA-certified or your only heat source.³ The ban stays until weather patterns shift enough to clear the air.

Fire Safety Burn Bans

Fire safety bans run on a completely separate track. The Washington Department of Natural Resources can designate areas as zones of extreme fire danger based on fuel moisture, wind, and temperature, then restrict or prohibit outdoor burning.⁵ Red Flag Warnings from the National Weather Service often coincide with these restrictions. The Spokane County Fire Marshal and individual fire districts can also impose their own bans without waiting for a DNR order.

Violating a fire safety ban is a misdemeanor punishable by up to $1,000 in fines or 90 days in jail, and you can be held liable for the full cost of any fire suppression triggered by your violation.⁵ Suppression bills can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Where You Live Changes the Answer

Even when no ban is active, your address determines what you can burn. The key line is the Urban Growth Area, and many people who think they live “in the county” are actually inside one.

If your property sits within any of Spokane County’s 13 cities and towns or their surrounding UGAs, outdoor burning for disposal is prohibited year-round, ban or no ban.⁶ Being outside city limits does not necessarily put you outside a UGA. The Washington Department of Ecology confirms that most burning is illegal inside urban growth areas.⁷

Outside cities and UGAs, residential yard debris burning is available only to residents of Fire Districts 2 (Fairfield), 5 (Nine Mile Falls), 11 (Rockford), and 12 (Waverly), which each have formal agreements with Spokane Clean Air.² Everyone else needs to compost yard waste or haul it to a yard waste facility. Not sure which district covers you? The county’s SCOUT tool lets you enter your address to find your local fire district.

What You Can Burn When No Ban Is Active

“No ban” is not the same as “burn anything.” A few narrow categories are permitted, each with rules.

Recreational Fires

Campfires, cooking fires, chimineas, and patio warmers are allowed on private property and in designated public areas when no restriction is in effect. This is the one type of burning available to residents inside cities and UGAs, and it still stops the moment an air quality or fire safety ban is declared. The requirements:²

No larger than 3 feet across and 2 feet tall.
At least 25 feet from any structure or combustible material.
Fuel limited to charcoal, natural gas, propane, manufactured logs or pellets, and dry untreated firewood.
Someone able to put the fire out must be present the whole time, and the fire must be fully extinguished before you leave.
If smoke bothers neighbors or damages their property, you must extinguish it immediately.

Yard Debris in the Four Fire Districts

If you live in Fire District 2, 5, 11, or 12, burn piles cannot exceed 4 feet by 4 feet by 3 feet, only one pile can burn at a time, and each must be fully extinguished before the next is lit.⁸ Keep the pile at least 50 feet from any structure and 500 feet from forest slash. Only vegetation that originated on your property qualifies; hauled-in material is prohibited. Check with your fire district for permit details and daily conditions before lighting.

What You Can Never Burn

Regardless of any ban status, these materials can never be burned outdoors anywhere in Spokane County: garbage, plastics, rubber, treated or painted wood, construction debris, petroleum products, cardboard, paper (beyond what’s needed to start a legal fire), metal, and dead animals.⁸ If it isn’t clean natural vegetation or an approved recreational fuel, it doesn’t go in the fire.

Civil penalties for illegal burning range from $200 to $10,000 per violation.⁸ Officials can also order any burn creating a smoke nuisance or threatening neighboring property extinguished on the spot. A prohibited burn that starts a wildfire brings criminal charges and suppression-cost liability on top of civil fines.

Reporting an Illegal Burn

To report someone burning illegally or in violation of a current ban, call the Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency at 509-477-4727. The Washington Department of Ecology also operates a statewide complaint line at 1-866-211-6284, Monday through Friday during business hours.⁹ Have the location, what’s being burned if you can tell, the date and time, and the property owner’s name if you know it. Anonymous complaints are accepted.

For a fire that’s out of control or an immediate safety threat, call 911 instead. Complaint lines handle enforcement and follow-up, not active emergencies.

1
Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency. Burn Restrictions
2
Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency. Outdoor Burning
3
Washington State Legislature. Washington Administrative Code 173-433 – Solid Fuel Burning Device Standards
4
Washington State Legislature. Washington Administrative Code 173-433-030
5
Washington State Legislature. Washington Administrative Code 332-24-205 – General Rules
6
Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency. May I Burn Outdoors? Answers to This FAQ
7
Washington State Department of Ecology. Outdoor and Residential Burning
8
Washington State Legislature. Washington Administrative Code 173-425-060 – Outdoor Burning Prohibited
9
Washington State Department of Ecology. Report Burning and Air Quality Issues